The Density Bottle is Red, the Density Bottle is Blue...
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 05/30/2025 - 10:10
You're going to love this new color variation on the Density Bottle experiment!
public understanding
Not so Green Up Close: a Peek at a dyed Chicago River Sample
Dean Campbell | Sat, 05/17/2025 - 22:36
Light absorbance and fluorescence were studied for a sample of the Chicago River that had been dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. The sample had weak green fluorescence, showing that the intense green appearance of the river was in part due to the long path length of light through the water. The ability of the green color to partition into 1-octanol was also explored.
Elevating the Coke and Mentos Experiment
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 04/07/2025 - 13:45
Ryan Johnson and I took a trip to the top of Pikes Peak to study the Coke and Mentos experiment. And we had a few surprises along the way...
Incorporating Climate Change Into Lessons on Metric Prefixes
Tom Kuntzleman | Sun, 01/12/2025 - 10:09
Learn how current research on climate change can be used in your next lesson on metric prefixes and unit conversions.
The Diamonds of Winter
Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 01/09/2025 - 09:44
Take a walk and explore the chemical winter wonderland of snowflakes...and diamonds!
Connecting Light Emissions from Aurora and Other Astronomical Phenomena to Chemistry Courses
Dean Campbell | Tue, 11/05/2024 - 19:26
Recent space-related phenomena like aurora and a comet were viewed by large numbers of people. These phenomena can be connected to concepts described in chemistry courses, such as electronic structures and light emission associated with species such as excited oxygen atoms.
Picture Perfect Chemistry
Tom Kuntzleman | Sat, 10/19/2024 - 12:17
A Picture-Perfect activity for National Chemistry Week 2024!
The WEIRDEST Chemical Reaction I've Ever Seen!
Tom Kuntzleman | Sat, 09/07/2024 - 11:17
This chemical reaction is just plain weird...but also beautiful!
The Chemistry of Water Reveal Coloring Books
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 07/16/2024 - 07:01
How do Melissa & Doug’s “Water WOW!” Water Reveal coloring books work? Let's do some experiments to find out!
The Chemistry of Pharaoh's Serpent with Calcium Gluconate
Tom Kuntzleman | Wed, 02/28/2024 - 13:59
Pharaoh's serpent is the name of a very interesting chemical reaction that produces a snake-like foam. Unfortunately, it requires the use of a toxic mercury compound. Explore this very similar reaction that can be achieved quite simply by using fuel tablets and calcium gluconate tablets and learn a lot about the chemistry that is involved!